An Unexpected Friendship Brought The Sun Out Again For A Grieving ManAfter his wife died, Dan Peterson didn't know what to do with himself. Then, he found a new friend in an unlikely place: the grocery store.

After his wife died, Dan Peterson didn't know what to do with himself. He spent a lot of time in his garden remembering his wife's favorite flower, white roses.

"I've never been able to get a white rose to grow — all mine are red," Peterson says.

Before she died, Dan and his wife would do everything together. Now, the world just felt darker.

Dan Peterson and Norah Wood met at a grocery store one day. Dan was depressed after losing his wife and Norah thought he needed a friend.
Courtesy of Tara Wood
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Courtesy of Tara Wood

"I'm sitting here starring out the back window of my house, just waiting it out to see how long I was going to live," he says.

One day on a dreaded grocery run, Dan felt particularly depressed.

"I hadn't shaved for a couple days and I hadn't had a haircut probably for three months and didn't give a you-know-what about anything except 'Well, what do I do tomorrow? Watch squirrels?' " he says.

Tara Wood was at the grocery store that day with her four-year-old daughter. Tara says Dan "didn't look like the friendliest man" — but that didn't stop Norah.

"And all of the sudden I come to the end of the hall, er aisle, and here's this little girl, and she's sort of bouncing up and down and pointing at me," Dan says. "And she said, 'Hi old person. Today's my birfday.' "

Norah seemed to know Dan needed some extra cheer.

"I thought he needed a friend because he was sad," Norah says.

Norah Wood and her mom Tara visit Dan just about every week now.
Courtesy of Tara Wood
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Courtesy of Tara Wood

And Dan did.

"When you have a little girl bouncing up and down and being so happy to be alive, you sort of change," Dan says.

Tara says Dan responded to Norah with, "Well hi little lady, how old are you today?"

Little Norah told her mom she wanted a picture, so the 81-year-old and 4-year-old posed for a photo. Norah then asked him for a hug.